Silent Night, Holy Night

In 1999, I was traveling with a group on a trip to Salzburg, Austria. One day after a trip to the salt mines in Germany, we were on our way back "home" when the tour guide pointed to a small church on the top of a mountain.

We were passing through Oberndorf, a small village outside of Salzburg, Austria. She said the church was St. Nikolaus Kirche the birthplace of the world's most popular Christmas carol Silent Night. As she explained it, the story goes something like this:

It was days before Christmas, and Father Joseph Mohr the parish priest was preparing for his Christmas Eve Mass. He realized he had a dilemma on his hands. He was expecting a church full of people, and his organ was broken. He really wanted some beautiful music for his Christmas Mass. However, the organ repairman was not a local, and was unable to get to the church in time for Christmas.

Father Mohr thought and thought. As he pondered his circumstances, he wandered around until he came to a hill overlooking the village. He stood there in silence looking at the snow covered village with its lights glowing in the dark and the stars shining brightly in the night sky. The peaceful scene below reminded him of a simple poem he had written two years before about the birth of the Christ Child.

On the morning of December 24, 1818, Father Mohr contacted his friend Franz Gruber the church organist to see if he could set the words of his poem to music. Father Mohr was hoping to have a carol composed which could be accompanied by a guitar. Franz Gruber jumped at the challenge. Within an hour or two, he had a melody which we now know as Silent Night.

The new Christams carol was first performed in St. Nikolaus Kirche on the evening of December 24, 1818. The story does not end there however.

The organ was eventually fixed. However, the original words and music were somehow lost over time. It seemed as though Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber had been forgotten over the years. At one point, years later, the original words and music were discovered behind the organ. At that time, the carol gained in popularity and eventually spread around the world.

At the end of the Mass on Christmas Eve, it is customary for most churches in Salzburg to turn down the lights and light candles. The organ is silent, and the Mass finishes with a candlelight version of Silent Night, Holy Night, sung in the original German version of "Stille Nacht, Heilige Night."

Silent Night is almost 200 years old. It is sung in more than 100 languages. Just think - this is almost a miracle that this famous Christmas carol survived to this day. It was written by an obscure young priest in a small mountain village and was set to music by an unknown composer. The original manuscript was lost for a number of years, and was rediscovered by accident. Silent Night somehow became the most popular Christmas carol in the world without the benefit of television, a celebrity recording or the Internet.

Have a peaceful Christmas!!!!!!!!!